Restoration
by CaseyMarieCarter
Summary: It's been years since they've met, and Percy wondered why he'd told Annabeth about rehab. He knew it wouldn't be a great conversation starter, and he wasn't in the mood to discuss further about what led him there. He wondered if he would ever tell anyone the truth of what really happened. He hoped he didn't have to. It wasn't pretty after all.


Percy didn't care. He didn't bother to. The man's voice was a dull, tinny sound in his ear; like the incessant buzzing of an insect passing by. You'd just want to swat it away instead of listening to it.

He craned his neck back, watching the ceiling fan with half-closed lids. The low hum was slowly lulling him to sleep. He let his lids flutter shut, and his breath glided evenly.

"PERCY!" A loud voice roared, snapping him awake. He whipped his head up and blinked, squinting his eyes at the outraged person before him. He fought hard to keep a cocky smile from forming across his lips.

"You're here to talk. Not to sleep," The man said sternly to him, distastefully eyeing him. Percy looked away, towards a large window nearby. He watched the traffic of the city crawl by, and his heart filled with slight longing. He yearned to be out in the city again, but he was trapped in here until he was allowed to leave. Hadn't he come on his own volition? He wanted to change. He knew that he had to. He knew that _she_ would want him to be sober.

But why did he feel so trapped? So hollow?

He took in a deep breath and leaned back, eyes still glued to the window. "Who says I can't do both? I'll talk in my sleep." He drawled apathetically. He spared a brief glance at the man before turning away, a smile spreading across his lips.

"I can't help you if you don't let me try," The man said, his voice weary.

"I don't want your help," He pronounced blatantly. He could sense that his physiatrist was about to blow his lid. What was his name again? Warren? Walter? Wayne? He couldn't remember; he didn't bother to. He'd always called him 'Doc', and his tone was strangely malicious each time the words escaped from his lips.

"Isn't that why you're here? To get _help_?" Doc was calm; his voice gentle and mellow. Percy wondered how Doc could remain so peaceful; he knew that if it were he, he'd be driven to insanity.

"Yes. I came to get _sober_. Not to talk about my feelings," He whispered ruefully.

"It's a package deal, m'boy. I'm sorry, but it is required that you talk about your feelings. You need to, if you want to go home, that is."

Percy sucked in a breath, and leaned his head back, enclosing his fingers and laying them atop his stomach. He knew that Doc was right. It was required, so that they could grade him and be assured that he'd be released into the world as a new man; a sober one. He didn't want to say anything at all. He wanted to tell as little as possible, but he knew he had to let some out, if he was to ever be released.

"Yes," He regretted it the moment it came out. Should he be opening up? Was this the day he was finally going to say something?

_After months and months of keeping thoughts closed within me, am I going to tell now? After he poorly convinced me that it had to be required? _Percy wondered.

_Maybe you held on it too tight, and now, some has to come spilling out, or you'll never get out. _A voice countered in his head.

"Hmm?" Doc murmured.

"Yes. I know I have to talk about how I'm feeling. But-" He paused for a moment, clearing his throat to rid away the lumping forming inside.

_Keep it short and least revealing, _he reminded himself.

"But what?" Doc asked.

Percy cleared his throat again before speaking. "But I'd hate to reopen old wounds."

"I agree."

Percy arched an eyebrow at the older man. "You do?"

"Yes. No one wants to reopen old wounds, but doesn't mean they don't have to," Doc paused for a moment, and took a sip of water from a glass nearby. "You can't keep living in the past Percy. You need to move on. Live instead of reminiscence."

"What if the past regrets are the only thing keeping me sane?" He whispered faint-heartedly after a long moment. He turned his head and looked at Doc, doing his best to mask the insecure terror in his eyes.

Doc smiled ruefully and flipped his notebook shut, sliding it aside. He took the glasses away from the perch of his nose and folded it, setting it across his lap. "The past failures and regrets don't keep you sane. It makes you a better version of yourself, but it doesn't keep you sane. If you dwell on it too long, it will drive you _insane_."

Percy turned away from Doc, and dwelled quietly in his thoughts for a long moment. Then he pushed himself up, planting his feet firmly onto the ground. "Well, be seeing you Doc."

"Percy, we're not done talking. We still need to talk about a name you mentioned on the first week of your arrival." Doc said.

Percy stiffened, his fingers grasping tightly onto his jeans. He wanted to kick himself for foolishly declaring her name during his first session. He did not want to mention her, but she consumed his mind like a raging parasite. He knew he couldn't forget her, but he was trying not to think of her so much.

"Thanks for your time." He said wryly through clenched teeth as he stalked towards the door. He yanked it open with one swift tug and shut it behind it him with a subdued thud.

Doc's voice drowned out as Percy shuffled down the hall and back into his room.

* * *

Annabeth cursed in frustration, combing her free hand through her unkempt blonde hair. With her other hand, she feebly tried to maneuver through a 3D architectural software on her computer. As she added in the remaining details, the error code popped up again.

"Dammit!" She exclaimed with a huff, clicking onto the button and rebooting the software again. _Thank God for autosave. _She thought.

A knock erupted from across the room and she looked up at her assistant, Rachel. "Annabeth? Your twelve o'clock appointment is here…" She trailed off, and frowned at Annabeth's dissatisfied expression. "Having troubles with the software again?" She cocked a knowing eyebrow.

Annabeth rubbed her temples and exhaled loudly. "Yeah…could you call the company and ask for tech support? I really need to get this done as soon as possible."

Rachel nodded, turning back towards the door. "Should I give a minute to settle everything?"

"Yeah. Give me a minute, then send them in." Annabeth nodded, fumbling to comb through her tangled hair. She yanked harshly through the tuffs and arranged the discarded notes on her desk neatly.

"Miss Chase?" A low voice greeted as he stepped into the room. Annabeth smiled at him and rose from her seat, holding her hand up.

"Thank you for making an appointment with me." The man said, shaking her hand firmly.

"No. It's no problem. Please have a seat." She nodded towards the chair in front of her as she sat down.

"So, I suppose you were briefed about what I have intended for the building I want you to design?" The man asked, watching her arrange the objects on his table with amusement.

Annabeth nodded and smiled sheepishly, heat rushing up her cheeks. As she settled herself in, she couldn't help but feel that the man was strangely familiar. She felt as she had seen him before. Like she'd known him before.

He reminded her of someone. Someone she couldn't quite forget. She remembered his name, but she was brought away from her thoughts by the man's laugh.

"Ah! Where are my manners? I am Poseidon, by the way." The man grinned.

"Poseidon?" She couldn't help but question.

Poseidon laughed again, waving his hand away in dismissal. "Yes. It's a strange name, right? My father loved Greek mythology, and he couldn't help but name his son, Poseidon."

"I don't find it strange. I love Greek mythology too," She said with a small laugh. "Well, I am in the midst of finishing the blueprints, and if you don't mind, may I ask why you had made an appointment me?"

"I came to see the 3D model, of course. I'm very thrilled about it. I'm acting like a child on Christmas."

"Oh, of course. Um…could you give me a moment? I need to load in the model." Poseidon nodded with childish glee, his hands pressed tightly together as if to hold in the rest of his excitement.

Annabeth clicked through her desktop and loaded in a large building that was almost as high as the empire state building. She turned her screen to Poseidon. He squinted at the building, a large grin spreading across his face.

"This is perfect Miss Chase!" He exclaimed, leaping up from his chair. Annabeth couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"I take it that you like it?" A wry smile formed across her lips. He nodded as he slid his hand into his jacket pocket. He produced a thick, worn leather wallet and slid out a thin plastic card.

"For you to enter into the premises." He told her, placing the card onto the table. On it was a green trident in the middle of a circle. Imprinted on it were cursive, bold letters stating Poseidon's company.

She took the thin plastic into her hands. "Thank you. I'll see you on Friday, then." She gave him a polite smile.

* * *

Percy sighed, drumming his fingers across his wrist with a steady beat. He glanced around, eyes falling onto the window leading to the street.

A small smile pulled the corner of his lip up. Finally, he was going _home_. It had been weeks since the therapy session with Doc, and to his surprise, Doc had actually released him.

"_You're releasing me?" Percy's tone was frigid as he frowned dubiously. Clenched loosely in his fist were the papers to his release. He stared at the papers with narrowed eyes, as if he was waiting for them to vanish from his grasp._

"_Yes. I am." Doc's tone was bright, like he was mirthful about the situation. _

"_You're releasing me? Just like that?" Percy asked again, straining to hear if he heard the words correctly. _

_Doc gave him a light smile and nodded. "Yeah. You're free to go at the end of this week. But you've still got to attend therapy regularly."_

"_Figured there'd be a catch," Percy muttered under his breath as he leaned over on the desk, placing his chicken-scrawl penmanship on the papers. He handed them back to Doc and rose to his feet. _

"Percy?" Leslie, a woman in her early-forties, cleared her throat. Percy's eyes snapped open, and he realized that he had fallen asleep.

Leslie smiled with bemusement and handed him a thin, crisp envelope. "You're free to go."

Percy's slender fingers wrapped around the envelope and he gave her the briefest of nods. "Thank you." His voice was sincere.

"You're welcome," She murmured and turned away, heading back to the receptionist desk. Percy tucked the envelope into his jacket pocket and grabbed his duffel bag, slinging on his shoulder as he stood up.

He gave one final look back before he walked out of the sliding doors.

"You have to be kidding me!" Percy exclaimed, fighting to keep his temper steady.

The landlord shrugged. "I'm sorry, Percy. There wasn't anything I could do. You were gone too long, and I couldn't hold your apartment for long."

"I _paid_ you to keep it." Percy hissed; his cheeks flushed with anger.

The landlord shrugged again and Percy restrained wringing his hands around his throat. "I'm really sorry. The new tenants bought the apartment with a higher price than yours."

Percy inhaled in a breath, his hands balled up in tight fists at his sides. "Where is my stuff?" He said with a low growl.

"Your father had it placed in storage," The landlord paused for a moment, letting a tenant in through the doors. The doors buzzed open with a loud chirp. "He asked you to call once you were out."

Percy pursed his lips and nodded. He turned away from the landlord, slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and trudged out, sliding out a slim device from his pocket.

He slid the lock button aside and tapped on his father's number, placing the phone to his ear.

"Percy?" His father's gruff voice came over the phone.

He smiled ruefully. "Hey, dad."


End file.
